Sophomore guard Cory Higgins has been the lone bright spot for CU this season. Photo – Joshua Lawton/Daily Camera

Most losses in school history. A solitary conference win, first-round Big 12 Tournament loss, and a winter of frustration now over. Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn thinks that both the men’s and women’s teams are on the right track (as part of a Q&A on the state of the hoops program in general).

Is there any way to be positive after such a bomb of a season?

I think the situation – especially with the men’s team – requires some rational thought and the viewpoint of relativity. This isn’t a 1-15 conference season for a program like Kansas, Texas, UCLA, Connecticut, Michigan State, or anyone else with a fanbase that expects – demands – to compete in the conference and make a trip to the Big Dance on a yearly basis. CU’s football fans may be able to make those demands, but the basketball program has not, historically, been strong enough to have those expectations.

What should the expectations be right now, then? Forward progress. As a wise man once said, progress doesn’t necessarily mean moving forward. I’ve written on here before that there’s a difference between a 1-15 season full of close games, and one where the team is outmatched and losing by double-digits every time out.

Whether (as some of the braintrust over at the Ralphie Report seem to think) it’s a matter of a slow-paced style of play or honestly being good enough to hang on but not quite ready to push through, CU has at least been competitive this year. A couple weeks ago I hypothesized what would have happened had CU turned around the nine games it lost by single-digits – at the time (before the home game against Missouri) it would have meant sitting in fourth in the conference, with road wins over Oklahoma and Kansas.

Basketball games are close for a reason, and that’s through quality. Turning those close losses into wins certainly paints a brighter picture for the Buffs’ season, doesn’t it? With how crazy the NCAA basketball scene has been in years past, it honestly could be a reality next year. Just a few years ago, Missouri was in the same spot CU finds itself now – a program chained to the doormat. Five straight seasons of sixth or worse in the Big 12, including finishing tenth last year.

This year? NCAA Tournament locks, and the third seed in this year’s conference tourney, behind only OU and KU.

Moreso than ever and much more than football, one great recruiting class – hell, one great recruit – can completely turn around a program, at least for a year. It’s both the nature of the sport (five players on the court instead of 11 on the field each for offense and defense) and the transitory nature of NCAA men’s basketball right now. The days of building up a program class by class and expecting three or four years are gone at most places, but unity and experience can still prove decisive for a program.

Who knows – sophomore guard Cory Higgins could become a first-team All-Big 12 player next year, the close losses this season could – after this year’s freshmen have gained some experience – flip to wins, and the team could be in the top four of the conference at this time next year. Maybe they’ll earn a first-day bye.

It seems to me that the dedication from the athletic department is at an all-time high – Bohn seems to be fed up with having losing programs, and doesn’t want to hang his hat on having a well-known football team and nothing else.

Basketball, volleyball, and golf have all gotten shots in the arm recently. The soccer team – which is now regularly in the conversation in the Big 12, and has made the NCAA Tournament each of the last six years – is what I’m guessing Bohn sees as the prototype for the other struggling programs right now. Bring in a good coach, let them build the team up, and provide them with improved facilities.

Going for big names or “Carmelo-izing” a program (taking them from mediocrity to the NCAA Finals in a player’s first and, probably, only season) may sound sexy and may be a great way to bring some hardware in for one season. But for CU’s rebuilding women’s team – which was always a power in the Big 12 – and the men’s program, too, that sort of stop-gap is not what you want.

Bzdelik seems to be on the right path. The only attribute needed is time, and as painful as it is to tell sports fans to be patient and wait for next year, it’s the only answer right now. It sounds like the administration knows this, fortunately. That sort of support can be rare in sports now.

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